"Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, 'You must not covet.' But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power." – Paul, Romans 7:7-8
The Bible tells us that the law of Moses was given to man so that all of us would know what God considers as sin. It was meant to tell us what God hates, and what we should avoid. However, dwelling too much on sin makes us sin-conscious: an attitude or state of mind wherein we tend to focus on sin's power, magnifying it instead of God's grace in Christ Jesus.
Magnifying Sin
Being sin-conscious defeats any and every Christian. When we focus on sin's power, it makes us believe lies: that it's too hard for us to deny, or that it's good for us. Paul said, "Sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me." Constantly thinking about sin makes us want to do it!
The Bible, however, wants us to focus on the grace of God that was shown through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11-14 beautifully explains it,
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."
No matter how much the devil lies to us, and no matter how much we condemn ourselves for the wrong we have done, the truth remains the same: Christ died for our forgiveness, our cleansing, and in His death and resurrection He has broken the power of sin over our lives! We can say "no" to sin!
What To Do Then
To stop being sin-conscious, we have to do some things.
We must "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (see Hebrews 12:1-2).
The Bible tells us to "fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise" (Philippians 4:8), and to "think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth" (Colossians 3:2).
Friends, being sin-conscious will hinder us from experiencing the freedom that Christ bought for us on that cross in Calvary. It's about time we become grace-conscious: always filling our hearts and minds with gratitude for what Christ has done.
